Mike Riley
February 1, 2005
I confess. I grew up in Sweet Home. I went to high school in a hard-working small town on the South Santiam. Families made good livings producing lumber and plywood, but they also produced a wellspring of revenue for Oregon roads, parks and schools.
The Portland region hasn’t always subsidized its rural cousins. For decades, timber counties more than paid their own way. But due to relentless environmental challenges in…